Wednesday, 19 August 2015

NDLEA arrest man with N48million cash on expressway

National Drug
Law Enforcement Agency arrest 25-year-old John Okafor for being in possession of N48m cash. It was
learnt that the suspect was apprehended with the money on the
Abaji-Abuja Expressway on Monday by the anti-narcotic officials who were
on a routine patrol.He was said to be one of the the passengers of a commercial bus coming from Onitsha, Anambra State, when he was arrested.

Okafor insisted that the money belonged to an unnamed bureau de change
firm in Onitsha, that he was an employee of the firm. He said he was
heading for the foreign exchange market in the Federal Capital Territory
to convert the sum to dollars when he was arrested.
He said:

“I work for a bureau de change in Onitsha. I was asked to purchase
dollars at the foreign exchange market in Abuja with the money. When we
got to Abaji, our vehicle was searched and the money was found. That is
all I know.”

It was gathered that a drug dealer, Chukuka Ugbai, was arrested with 79
bags of weed said to have tested positive for cannabis in Bako village
in the Kwali Area Council, Abuja during the same patrol.
The drug which weighed 817 kilogrammes was found in his warehouse. While
Ugbai owned up to illicit dealing in drug, Ugbai, but said he was
amazed that the operatives were able to track him to his residence.
He said:

“I was not lucky enough because I don’t know how they detected my
cannabis warehouse. I sell cannabis to take care of my family and pay my
children’s school fees. The officers found 79 bags of cannabis in my
store.”

The FCT commander of the NDLEA, Mrs. Chinyere Obijuru, confirmed the two
arrests in a statement. She said Okafor would be handed over to the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for further investigation,
while Ugbai would be charged to court.

She said:

“Okafor was on board a commercial bus from Onitsha in Anambra State when
N48,450,000 was found in a brown carton concealed in a sack. He also
had on him 86,500 CFA. He claimed that the money belongs to a bureau de
change at Onitsha. He is suspected to be engaging in money laundering
and will be transferred to the EFCC for further investigation. “Ugbai
was arrested at Bako village in the Kwali Area Council following the
discovery of his cannabis warehouse. He will soon be charged to court
for unlawful possession of cannabis.”

The NDLEA Chairman, Ahmadu Giade, said the agency would continue to
clamp down on drug traffickers and urged the public to comply with the
provisions of the anti-money laundering act.